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Paulo Costa reacted to Conor McGregor's vow to stay sober leading up to his highly anticipated return to the octagon. 'The Notorious' is gearing up to face off against his coaching adversary from 'The Ultimate Fighter' season 31, Michael Chandler, in the headline bout of UFC 303.
The pay-per-view event is slated to take place on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The upcoming fight against Chandler marks the return of 'The Notorious' after his severe leg injury in the trilogy match with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. Despite the challenging hiatus, McGregor remains confident in his physical fitness.
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During a live stream with Duelbits on KICK (via The Mirror), the former two-division champion was spotted holding a pint of his own stout but resisted taking a sip. He shared that he has been abstaining from alcohol for the past five weeks and plans to maintain this sobriety until June 29:
"I’ve been off the drink. I’ve been off my beautiful products since the 10-week mark. So, I’m five weeks and five days out. I’m taking this seriously."
'Borrachinha' humorously responded to McGregor's remarks, stating, "I'm 24 hours." It remains unclear whether the Brazilian middleweight fighter meant he had been sober for just one day or if he intended to be sober just one day before his upcoming fight.
Check out Paulo Costa's post below:
Costa is preparing to go head-to-head with former 185-pound champion Sean Strickland in a five-round bout set as the co-main event of UFC 302, taking place on June 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
When Paulo Costa expressed his middleweight bout ambitions against Conor McGregor
During an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani in January, Paulo Costa responded to Conor McGregor's previous statement expressing his intention to compete in the middleweight division upon his return to the octagon.
'Borrachinha' voiced his desire to face McGregor in the near future, citing the Irishman's increased weight as a primary reason for his interest in the matchup:
"I have some feelings about that. I think we're going to fight. I think so, honestly. Because he's moving up, and we don't have too many middleweight guys. I think my style and his style is a good matchup, you know?
"I do not try to put him down, and he does not, either. I think he's huge, strong, very good. He's an exceptional fighter, one of the best of all time."
Check out Paulo Costa's comments below (21:14):
